Chemicals React
by Gotham's Forgotten Crimfighter
Summary: You make me feel out my element, like I'm walking on broken glass, like the world's spinning in slow motion, and your moving to fast. Oneshot. RyanKelsi. Rated K


**A/N: I love Ryan/Kelsi. I think that it's just so cute and I love the whole opposites attract thing. **

_Disclaimer- I don't own High School Musical. The lyrics belong to Aly & AJ, not me. I do own the plot-steal and die!_

_Chemicals React_

_You make me feel out of my element_

_Like I'm walkin' on broken glass_

_Like my worlds spinnin' in slow motion_

_And you're movin' too fast_

Kelsi Nielson never thought that it would come to this. She'd never really seen much in Ryan Evans, just a lumbering, stupid, clueless, self-absorbed dram geek. Not to mention the rumors that she'd heard about him saying that he was gay.

To think that she'd believed them. And just to think that if she'd never broken up with her boyfriend, Wildcats basketball player, Jason Cross, that she would've gotten to know him this well.

She remembered it clear as day. Jason called her and said that he wanted to talk to her. She remembered feeling a terrible feeling in the pit of her stomach. It came true. Jason said that he felt as things weren't turning out as he had planned them to. That she was becoming more and more like a sister to him everyday. He was really sweet about it too. But that didn't stop Kelsi from running to her sanctuary: the school theater. She recalled sitting on the stage at the piano, playing Chopin.

Then Ryan walked in. Seeing that she was in tears, he asked her what was wrong. Against her better judgment, and the fact that she just wanted someone to confide in, she told him everything.

Who knew that there was a whole different side to Ryan Evans that she'd never even known about?

_Were you right, was I wrong_

_Were you weak, was I strong, yeah_

_Both of us broken_

_Caught in a moment_

_We lived and we loved_

_And we hurt and we jumped, yeah_

_But the planets all aligned_

_When you looked into my eyes_

_And just like that_

_The chemicals react_

_The chemicals react_

Everything that had happened in the past months led up to this moment. The Homecoming Dance. She and Ryan had spent time together over the summer; a lot of time together, the two hung out everyday, becoming closer and closer.

It all led up to Ryan asking her to the dance on Monday, the start of spirit week. Leave it to Ryan to ask her to one of the biggest dances of the year next to the proms. Something inside of her just couldn't stop her from saying yes the second that he asked her.

Kelsi stared at herself in the mirror. **I look hot!** She thought, spinning around in her knee-length red dress and black closed-tow heels. **I can't even recognize myself!** It was true, she did look different. She was actually wearing makeup. Not that she didn't wear it from time to time at school, but she normally didn't wear any color that wasn't the exact tone of her alabaster skin. Her hair, which was normally up and hidden by a hat, was down so that her light brown curls touched just beneath her shoulders. She hardly ever wore dresses and she couldn't recall the last time she wore heels.

The sounds of Ode to Joy came rang through the house.

"Kelsi!" Her mother called to her, "Ryan's here!"

_You make me feel out of my element_

_Like I'm drifting out to the sea_

_Like the tides pullin' me in deeper_

_Makin' it harder to breathe_

Kelsi almost sprinted to the door, nearly breaking her neck on the way out her bedroom. When she entered her family's living room, Ryan was standing there by her family's grand piano.

"You look…"The words almost couldn't come out of Ryan's mouth, Kelsi just took the breath from his mouth. "Amazing," he finally said, breathlessly.

Kelsi blushed, thankful that Ryan would be able to tell because of the blush she was wearing. "Thank you." She then eyed Ryan. He was wearing black dress pants, a black shirt, a metallic tie, and of course a hat. It was one of his less bold hats; it was just a black cowboy hat. "You look rather dashing. The only person I know that could go for the whole 'man in black' look is Johnny Cash"

Ryan laughed slightly; it was his turn to blush. "Sorry, I watched Walk The Line with Sharpay the other night and…I thought it was a cool look."

Kelsi laughed and fought back the urge to tell him that he was cute when he blushed. "I think it looks good on you Ry."

"Thanks," Ryan said with a smile, "Oh! I almost forgot," he pulled out a small plastic box. "This is for you."

It was a beautiful corsage. Daisies and forget-me-nots were bunched up together on a sliver ribbon.

"You'd mentioned that they were you're favorite flowers," Ryan said as he slipped it over her wrist.

Kelsi brought up her head so that her eyes met his. "It's beautiful. Thank you."

_We cannot deny, how we feel inside_

_We cannot deny_

The lights were dimmed in the gym as Kelsi entered the East High School Gym on Ryan's arm. Both were grinning from ear to ear.

"Want to get our picture taken?" Ryan asked her, pointing to a small little curtain in the hallway outside of the gym.

Kelsi shrugged, "Why not? Let's do it. My mom will want a souvenir of this night: Kelsi's first dance not locked up in her room."

"You went to junior prom," Ryan said helpfully, "That has to count for something."

Kelsi nodded, "So I did. But I really don't go to dances."

"Hey," said Ryan, "I don't really go to dances either. It's just another chance for Sharpay to try and set me up with one of her little diva followers."

Kelsi gave him a sympathizing look. "That would suck. It would be like dating another Sharpay."

They had reached the area where the pictures were being taken.

Ryan gestured to the gray curtain. "Shall we?"

_Were you right, was I wrong_

_Were you weak, was I strong, yeah_

_Both of us broken_

_Caught in a moment_

_We lived and we loved_

_And we hurt and we jumped, yeah_

_But the planets all aligned_

_When you looked into my eyes_

_And just like that_

_The chemicals react_

_The chemicals react_

"Okay," said the guy behind the camera, "Can I get you to turn in closer?"

Ryan laughed and pretended to not know what the guy was saying. Kelsi couldn't help but smile at him.

"Now put your arm," he gestured to Kelsi, "On his shoulder. And you-"He waved a long finger at Ryan, "Place your hand on her waist."

Kelsi shivered slightly as Ryan's hand fell on the small of her waist.

"Now look at each other…"

There eyes met. Kelsi felt her heart leaping. Was it possible that her feelings for Ryan were indeed one-hundred-percent genuine?

"Smile!"

SNAP!

There was a flash of blinding light.

_Kaleidoscope of colors_

_Turning hopes on fire, sun is burning_

_Shining down on both of us_

_Don't let us lose it (don't let us lose it...)_

Ryan held up the sample photo that the picture guy had given them.

"I must say that for forty bucks, they've really gotten my gotten my good side, yours to," he said with a grin on his face.

Kelsi laughed, that's what she liked about Ryan so much. His ability to make her laugh no matter what, it always brightened her day.

A slow song came on.

"I love this song!" Kelsi said, "_When darkness turns to light it ends tonight, it ends tonight._" She then noticed that Ryan was staring at her, his jaw dropped. "What?"

He blinked, once, twice. "I never knew that you could sing so good…don't tell her this, but you sound way better than Sharpay."

"You're just saying that."

Ryan shook his head, "No, I really mean it. How come you've never auditioned for any of the musicals before? I think you'd have a fair shot at the lead with your voice."

Kelsi shrugged, "I don't know, it could be because I've honestly…against singers like Sharpay and Gabriella, I don't really see myself standing a chance."

A mischievous grin crossed his face. "You'd stand a chance up against Chad, I mean come on, have you heard him sing karaoke?"

Kelsi laughed hard. "Don't let Chad catch you saying that. He thinks he's the next Usher or something."

_Were you right, was I wrong_

_Were you weak, was I strong, yeah_

_Both of us broken_

_Caught in a moment_

_We lived and we loved_

_And we hurt and we jumped, yeah_

"Somebody say my name?" Chad Danforth walked over to where the couple was standing. His date and girlfriend, Taylor McKessie, followed him.

Ryan rolled his eyes, "No," he said sarcastically, "I said Brad, not Chad."

Chad crossed his arms across his chest in mock-anger. "What was this I heard about you saying things about my singing Ryan, I am so the next Usher."

Taylor rolled her eyes," Please, I beg of you," she said to Ryan, "Don't get him started, I'm the one who's had to deal with him singing Beyoncé the entire way over here."

Chad walked up to Taylor, grinning, "_To the left, to the left. Everything you own in a box to the left_," he sang just to tick his girlfriend off.

Taylor clapped a hand over his mouth, "I don't care, start again and I will kill you."

Kelsi laughed, "I like you dress Taylor," she said, changing the subject.

Taylor looked at her dress, which was knee-length and sky-blue. "Thanks, you look nice too."

Ryan could tell that annoying his girlfriend was on his mind because the next thing he knew Chad was walking over to him and placing his arm around his shoulder.

"Well I don't care what you say; Ryan is the hottest guy here."

Ryan felt his face turn red, "Um…thanks?"

The song switched to an even slower number.

Rolling her eyes at Chad one last time, Taylor grabbed her date by the arm. "Okay you; let's dance before it's over."

Ryan turned to face Kelsi, "shall we join them?"

Kelsi nodded, "Yeah."

Together they walked to the dance floor.

_We lived_

_We loved_

_We hurt_

_we jumped_

_We're right_

_We're wrong_

_We're weak_

_We're strong_

_We lived to love_

Ryan and Kelsi entered the dance floor (a.k.a. the gym) hand in hand. Taking their place in a remote corner, she placed her arms around his neck and he slipped his arms around her waist.

"I actually didn't think that you would come with me." Ryan said, almost a whisper so that no one (particularly Sharpay who was dancing with her boyfriend, Zeke Baylor not to far away) could hear him.

Kelsi, who had been resting her head on his chest, looked up into his eyes. "And why's that."

"I thought I was just like your brother or something. Or heaven forbid, you thought I was gay. You wouldn't have been the first."

Kelsi felt her heart racing faster than it had been. Should she fess up and tell him how she felt?

"…I don't think that," she said, her voice barely audible.

"I love you Kelsi."

"What?"

"I love you…I have…for a very long time."

"You have?"

"Why do you think I've never asked out any other girls? I know that it's stupid of me, but I've always hoped that I part of you has loved me too?"

Kelsi looked up in his eyes. She did love him. But what if it all ended badly.

She then realized something. She didn't care. All that mattered was they both shared the same feelings. He really liked-loved her. It wasn't all in her head.

She then knew that she had to say it. She didn't care who knew. She had to say what was on her mind.

"I love you Ryan."

Just like that, not caring that Sharpay had her eyes on them. They kissed.

_But the planets all aligned_

_When you looked into my eyes_

_And just like that_

_Watch the chemicals react_

_And just like that_

_The chemicals react_

_(The chemicals react)_

**A/N: Please R&R! I've never written a Relsi before so…tell me what you think!**


End file.
